Humongous Roman mosaic found under farmer's field in Turkey (+video)

Before I even read anything about this I though to myself, "Wonder if it was some kind of bathing set-up?" Sure enough, that was the first thing I
read...gotta give it up for the Romans....looooved staying clean. SO MANY BATHS.

Originally posted by BurningSpearess
I have no idea; I do believe that this floor is from Petra (the ruins and at one point one of the 7 wonders of the world) in Jordan...

It may be the planet Saturn, but to me it looks like an eye, more specifically: ʿayn al-ḥasūd, عين الحسود‎, "the eye of envy"???

I am amazed by the mosaics in Petra, but also, the ones in Madaba, Jordan that create a mosaic map of the holy lands...even at that time depicting
places that others only became familiar with because of the mosaic itself...so not just an art form, but a historical teaching tool all in
one....

Ahhh that would make far more sense of the symbol being an eye rather than Saturn.

The eye would be the Sun and so be far more compatible as the zodiac involves the procession of the Sun through the zodiac signs.

The Dajjal of Islam is said to be blind in one eye and it is described as a grape, which is allegory from the ancient Egyptian deity Horus who's eye
was injured in his battle with Set. The grape representing the Moon and the Eye of Horus being the Sun.

wow nice i love it when they make finds like this.
the thing about such finds goes to tell you what history was lost when roman empire fell.
now the hunt starts to see if they can find out when it was constructed and who it may have belonged to.

Yes Dave I agree. Makes You think of Life of Brian..
..Reg: But apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, viniculture, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh-water system, and public
health, what have the Romans ever done for us?
PFJ Member: Brought peace?
Reg: Oh, peace? SHUT UP!

I am imagining it to be the personal getaway for some richie rich kind of guy in those times.
If they found the mosaic and are assuming that it surrounded a swimming pool, have they found the foundations and remains of the house/place.whatever
that it is attached to?

Sorry i can see only the pics since you tube is blocked at my work place!

There are some awesome Roman bath houses near, though here in the UK they are mostly covered, probably due to the weather, still good though, and many
are well preserved.

On the point of keeping clean, it was written in the day that in a lot of the Baths there wasn't any outflow for the water so they were bathing in
the same water, a lot and it was considered unhygienic by a contemporary doctor of the day.

So far, the researchers have revealed about 40 percent of the mosaic. The
floor is in 'pristine' condition, and would have fronted an open-air marble swimming pool flanked by porticos.

The mosaic, which once decorated the floor of a bath complex, abuts a 25-foot (7-meter)-long pool, which would have been open to the air, said Michael
Hoff, a University of Nebraska, Lincoln art historian and director of the mosaic excavation. The find likely dates to the third or fourth century,
Hoff said. The mosaic itself is an astonishing 1,600 square feet (149 square meters) — the size of a modest family home.

"To be honest, I was completely bowled over that the mosaic is that big," Hoff told LiveScience.

I found this to be a cool story. They've only excavated about 50% so far. But it seems to be almost complete and very well preserved considering
it's about 2,000 years old. I can't wait to see the whole thing. Here is the video.

Enjoy

edit on 19-9-2012 by SLAYER69 because: (no reason given)

Mosaic tiles wow and that is before they had the manufactured netting in the back. Now that was work!

The older the civilization the mystery becomes deeper for me. The Roman Empire is a great start. Now if only they could put half the effort in Gobekli
Tepe we could really make history.

So that farmer just became an instant millionaire.. Does he get sole possession of it? Can he do with it as he pleases? If I was him, I would be
selling the sh*t out of it and retiring on some beach...

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